


More of You

by oywiththepeetaalready



Series: More of You [1]
Category: Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:09:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oywiththepeetaalready/pseuds/oywiththepeetaalready
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you meet the perfect guy and actually have the guts to do something about it? What happens if you know that in three months you will never see him again? This time, Katniss Everdeen is refusing to sit back and let an opportunity pass her by. Along the way she will learn that not all regrets are necessarily negative. Modern AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More of You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot that I had rolling around in my head inspired by "More of You" by the Goo Goo Dolls and some real life experience. Enjoy!

_You're such a mystery to me._  
 _I can never figure you out._  
 _I'm always waiting just to see_  
 _what you're gonna do,_  
 _how you're gonna be right now to me..._

__  
_No I won't give up, no I won't back down._  
 _Never ever gonna let you go._  
 _Yeah you pull me in, now I feel so free._  
 _I wanna do to you what you do to me._

_\- Goo Goo Dolls, "More of You"_

The “Add Friend” button is mocking her.

“Damn it, Katniss. Would you man the hell up and click the blue button?”

Katniss turns to glare at her roommate. “It’s not that simple.” She turns back to the computer, wishing the profile wasn’t on the one of the highest frigging privacy settings. You can’t get anything from a page like this. Oh goody, she can tell he is from North Carolina and interns at a hospital. Fascinating.

“Yes it is! You guys have spoken, the odds of him knowing your name are fairly high, now just add him, for the love of God, because his profile picture is not attractive enough for you to be staring this hard at it. I am going to need visual proof that he is worth your online stalking.”

“I’m not stalking, Jo. And I’m not sure if him asking to borrow a pen twice and me telling him thanks after handing me a paper counts as talking. And he is cuter than his profile picture.”

Johanna grins. “You know how many times you guys have interacted. You’re adorable. And that’s what they always say…he’s cuter than this, I promise!”

“Don’t patronize me.”

Her roommate stretches on the couch and her smile grows. “Never, dear. Never.”

Katniss’ only reply is a roll of her eyes.

“You know if a guy was interested in you and you asked to borrow a pen from him instead of someone else, he’d be convinced you want the D.”

At that, she can’t help but laugh. “I know I’ve been hanging out with you too much. That was exactly what I thought when he asked the second time.”

She sees Johanna fist pump in the air in triumph. “Success!”

Katniss shakes her head and throws a pillow at her friend. If he talks to her again, she’ll add him, she decides.

\---

A week later, she has interacted with this guy in class maybe one more time and yet he still comes up in conversations easily between her and her three roommates. She’s heading back to her apartment after work one day and pulls up his profile on her phone. She shakes her head quickly and texts another one of her roommates, Annie.

**Tell me just to do it.**

She immediately gets a response from the calmest and most rational of her roommates.

**Add him. You aren’t asking him to sleep with you. A friend request is nothing.**

Katniss smiles and taps the screen. Friend request sent.

She continues walking back from the liberal arts building, which houses both her job and the majority of her classes (being a history major has its perks, like having most of one’s classes in the humanities building that happens to be closest to her apartment building). She feels her phone buzz in her pocket and pulls it out, assuming Johanna has been locked out again.

Instead, she smiles stupidly.

**Peeta Mellark has accepted your friend request.**

Not two minutes later, it is followed up by a message notification.

**PM: Hey Katniss! I’m glad you added me. I actually had a question for you. Did you get all the requirements for our final project?**

She hates being a girl, Katniss decides, as her heart jumps in her chest at the second sentence of the message. Then she has an idea. She waits a few minutes to not seem ridiculously eager and replies.

**KE: Yeah, I actually took a picture of what he wrote on the board before I left. I am trying to attach it to send, but it won’t go through.**

Almost instantly, a response comes through.

**PM: No worries. Can you just text it to me?**

Katniss actually bounces in place at how well her plan worked, now in the safety of her own room. She agrees and when he replies with his number, she saves it in her phone with a satisfied smirk and mentally high fives herself. _Well done,_ she thinks as she sends the picture to him. _I don’t think it could have gone better if I had written his messages for him_.

\---

Over the next two weeks, things evolve quickly. Suddenly, instead of sitting alone in class and not talking to people, Katniss is drawn into conversation with the blue eyed blonde until the teacher arrives. She contains her glee (for the most part) but ends up losing focus in class and staring at the curly hair that lies across the back of his neck and wondering what it would be like to run her fingers through it.

They text in the evenings, one or the other starting the conversation about something involving their shared class but quickly moving on to sarcastic quips and classic get-to-know-you small talk. Katniss tells him of her sister and how she wants to be a history professor. He responds in kind about his two brothers, his (much more impressive) plan to go study medicine at Harvard and be a doctor, though his heart truly lies with cancer research.

They talk about how he practically lives in the library and she complains that she can’t concentrate due to her roommate’s overzealous desire to blast _Laguna Beach_ in their living room. The innocent comment leads him to invite her to join him in the library.

Katniss sits, stunned for a moment, and looks at the clock. It’s almost eleven at night and she’s in yoga pants and a t-shirt. She runs to the room next to hers. “Madge!”

The blonde girl looks up and cocks her head in confusion. It takes a lot for her roommate to get this flustered. “Do I dare ask?”

“He wants me...”

“I’m gonna need more.”

“He just asked me to meet him at the library.”

“And….?”

“Well, it’s eleven at night and I look like this…?”

“I don’t understand how a tight t-shirt and form fitting yoga pants wouldn’t be appealing to a guy.”

“Touché. Leaving now.”

“Good girl.” Madge smiles as the usually unflappable girl turns abruptly and goes back to her room.

Ten minutes of primping and a short car ride later, she arrives at the library and begins searching for the now familiar blonde. After looking around the large room for a few unsuccessful moments and a text with nothing more than a question mark, she turns at the sound of a throat clearing. She makes sure to not smile as large as she wants to and heads over to the table.

Books litter the surface of the table, some stacked four or five high. Katniss raises an eyebrow and he responds solely with a sheepish shrug. Before she can stop the words from escaping her lips, she remarks, “Compensating for something here?” She mentally slaps herself. _Wow. How many ways was that inappropriate?_

Somehow the odds are in her favor and he responds with a smirk and a “wouldn’t you like to know” before asking how she is getting on with her own work. She shrugs noncommittally and she sits in the chair across from him. They chat about the project a bit more before going about their research, enjoying the surprisingly comfortable silence that has settled over the table. At one point, his computer makes such a loud whir that the two start in surprise. Katniss glances over and he groans at her confused expression.

“It’s been slowly dying for almost a year. You’d think I’d be used to random noises like this one and yet…”

“A normal person might get a new one…” she replies with a laugh.

“A normal person may not have been promised a replacement as a combination graduation present and congrats on the med school thing.”

“I see. So you have all of a month to deal with this thing?”

He stretches in his seat, allowing her to enjoy the view of his defined arms and chest in the tight school tee he is wearing. “Yup. One month till I am out of here and heading home for a bit.”

Katniss hopes that the slight twinge of disappointment she feels is not obvious to the man in front of her. “You mentioned you wanted to go to Harvard. Are you going this next year or for something else?”

“Not this year, no. I am going to Duke for a while. But in a year or two I’m going to put in a transfer.” He smiles at the thought and turns his attention back to Katniss. “What are you doing when you’re done here? You have one more to go, right?”

She nods, suddenly feeling very young in comparison to Peeta, who seems to have his entire life figured out. “Yeah, one more. I’m trying to decide on grad schools, though. Have to figure out a specialty to work towards.”

“You seem to like our class. And Dr. Abernathy always looks to you first when he asks a question.” He rolls his eyes teasingly.

“If other people would chime in once in a while…” she points at him. “I know you know half the shit he’s talking about. You just refuse to comment.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

She lets out a small laugh. “Bull.” His only response is a slightly sheepish grin before turning back to his work.

After about two hours and a surprising amount of progress, Katniss can’t stop yawning and Peeta’s head keeps nodding over the book he is reading. He catches her eye and nods towards the exit. “Time to head out?”

Katniss stifles a tremendous yawn while nodding. “I can’t read any more about this. It’s making my head hurt.”

The two get up and walk towards the door. “Agreed. I am not entirely sure what I was thinking choosing this class for an elective. This is too much like work.”

Katniss shoves his arm lightly. “That’s what you get for taking a four thousand level class for fun.”

He laughs, nodding. “Guess you’re right.” He glances around the deserted street. “You drive or do you need a ride back to your apartment?”

She smiles at his question and nods her head towards the parking lot near the library. “My car’s that way.”

His response confuses her. He nods curtly and moves in the other direction for a moment before mentioning, “Mine’s over here.” Katniss frowns. _Did I miss something here?_ He looks back at her and smiles slightly. “See you Tuesday?” At her nod, his smile grows a bit. “Cya then, Katniss. Have a good night.”

Katniss wishes him the same and turns towards the lot, walking away. Fifty feet away, she glances over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of him watching her leave. She smirks and continues walking. _Madge was right. Yoga pants were a good choice._

\---

Another week passes and Katniss finds herself talking to Peeta more frequently, walking together after class and texting until obscene hours of the night. He had even joined her at work one evening, closing up a desk in a residence hall, to do some of his own work. The two had not gotten much work done, instead, talking and listening to music from when they were in middle school. In fact, when Katniss had glanced at the clock, she should have been off work for over an hour. After noticing that, Peeta had walked her to her building, leaving her with a hug and a giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The following Sunday, she is out with one of her roommates, her RA and a few of the guys that live in their building at a café. Madge is sitting across the table, joking and laughing with their RA Delly and two of the guys who had joined them, Finnick and Beetee. Katniss is next to a sophomore named Cato and his roommate Marvel is trying desperately to get Madge’s attention.

Katniss is sitting quietly for the most part, sipping a beer and texting Peeta, who is, unsurprisingly, spending yet another evening in the library. As it gets later, the joking gets bolder and the drinks keep multiplying. Katniss begins joining in more as she finishes her second beer and continues texting.

**Psh. You honestly think the library is more fun than the outside world? I’m at Café Capital with some of my friends. You know you’d rather be here.**

Not even a minute later, she is granted a response.

**Not gonna deny that one. But I do need to get some more work done…text you when I’m done and see if you’re still there?**

Katniss rolls her eyes as she types back what she assumes will be her last message for the evening.

**Whatever works for ya. I’ll leave you alone so I don’t distract you from your work. Talk to you later.**

She slides her phone in her pocket and rejoins her friends in conversation. Twenty minutes later, she glances at her phone to check the time and is surprised to see two texts from Peeta.

**You aren’t distracting me. Would just rather come hang out with you than text and do work.**

**Hey, you still there?**

Katniss finally notes the time, almost one in the morning. After checking with her friends and them all agreeing to stay at least another hour, she tells Peeta to come meet them.

Fifteen minutes later, Katniss feels her stomach knot, and it isn’t due to the beer. She looks up and sees Peeta heading towards the café’s patio where she and her friends are. She doesn’t even bother to contain her grin and gets up to meet him at the entrance.  She is pleased to notice his smile is just as large and they hug before she leads him to a seat next to hers at the table.

Surprisingly, he fits in with her friends perfectly and proceeds to get in a discussion with Finnick, who is also a science major. The group, now including Peeta, ends up hanging out until close to four in the morning. When they walk out onto the street, he stops and looks over at Katniss, who is heading the opposite direction to the car she came in with her friends.

She pauses and walks back towards him, calling out to Madge to hold on for a minute. When she is standing in front of Peeta, she smiles. “Glad you decided to come out tonight.”

He surprises her by pulling her into a hug and agreeing. “Yeah, me too. Thanks for the invite. Your friends are pretty cool. It’s nice to hang out with some different people.”

Katniss pulls back a bit and he relents, keeping one arm across her shoulders as they both cross the street. “Glad you like ‘em. They can be a bit overwhelming at times.”

His grip tightens momentarily on her shoulder and he looks down at her with a grin. “Nah, they seem like fun.” He looks over to where Madge, Finnick and Beetee are waiting in the car. “Guess you need to go, huh?”

She sighs. “If for no other reason than the fact that I have class in about five hours.”

He responds with a laugh and one last hug, bidding her a goodbye as he walks to his car. As she slides into the backseat next to Beetee, she cringes as she realizes he had given her an opening to go home with him instead. _Damn, I suck at this._

\---

A few days later, Katniss sits at a bar with Annie and Madge, drinking and eating to blow off steam as classes had ended for the semester earlier that day. The three girls are enjoying their brief glimpse of freedom, as exams were due to begin within the week. As Katniss finishes up a discussion with Annie, she notices Madge putting down a phone on the table and she does a double take.

“That’s mine! Shit, what were you doing?” She grabs it and navigates to her texts, seeing a few to Peeta she definitely doesn’t remember sending. They seem harmless enough, letting him know about the bar they are at and saying how awesome it is. She rolls her eyes at the giggling blond girl. “Maybe we should take this away from you,” she teases, trying to pull away her friend’s beer. Madge’s retort is a pout and to grab at the drink, only succeeding due to the fact that Katniss is distracted by an incoming text.

**Hmm…you go there to blow off steam, huh? I’ll have to keep that in mind.**

Katniss rolls her eyes. The guy will be leaving town for good in about two weeks. _Not much time to keep that in mind_.

\---

The next night, however, she is sitting with Annie, indulging in a marathon of _Law and Order: SVU_ , when her phone buzzes.

**I need to blow off steam. Care to join?**

Katniss chokes on the soda she is drinking and looks at her friend, holding out the phone to show her.

Annie grins and looks at the frozen brunette. “Sweetie, why are you still sitting here and not texting him back and getting ready?”

“I promised to hang out with you tonight…” Katniss has a conflicted look on her face. Annie looks at her in shock. She would actually turn down the guy she’s wanted a date with for over a month to not break a promise to her roommate. Annie grabs Katniss’ phone and types back a message before she can talk herself out of it.

**Sounds good. What time?**

“Annie!”

“You’re going. Go do something with your hair and wash your face and you’re good to go.”

Katniss hugs her friend and all but runs to the bathroom, suddenly wishing she was the kind of girl who wore make up. She takes her roommate’s advice and notes that she had a decent outfit on already from work and nods at her reflection. _Let’s do this._

A few more texts and about ten minutes pass before they hear a horn honk outside. Katniss draws in a breath and walks outside to get in Peeta’s jeep. He greets her with a smile and when she returns it, he pulls away from the curb. Katniss is pretty sure she sees him look her up and down out of the corner of her eye and it makes her confidence rise enough to start a conversation.

As they are talking, Katniss allows herself a quick glance of Peeta that she had abstained from since she got in the car. After a brief look, Katniss has to swallow. _It should be illegal to look that good._ A black button up shouldn’t be that magical of an item, but with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tan skin and the color somehow making his blue eyes brighter, she now believes every man should have one in their wardrobe.

They pull up to the bar and find a table, sitting as near to one another as they dare. After fifteen minutes and a beer each, the two are talking as if they’ve known each other their entire life.

“Wait, how in the hell did you go from an audio engineering major to medicine?”

Peeta laughs. “Oh, it wasn’t just those two. I also tried physics and law.”

 “How are you graduating in four years?” Katniss asks incredulously. “You cheated.”

 Peeta’s laughs get stronger as he replies, “No cheating. Just a shit ton of hours every semester.”

“Whatever works for ya. And here I thought you had your whole life figured out from day one…I’ve been deceived!”

“I have it figured out now, but a few years ago….no way in hell.”

He tells Katniss a synopsis of his college life, making the story interesting enough to where she is hanging on his every word and even laughing occasionally. She adds her own anecdotes when they fit and soon, a waitress is coming over to let them know it is last call.

Peeta cocks an eyebrow at Katniss. “One more before we go?” At her nod, he places the order and glances at his watch. “Holy shit, Katniss. It’s almost two thirty.”

“Seriously? Wow. I wonder why I haven’t heard from any of my roommates. I am usually the homebody and no one is curious why I vanished almost without a trace? Odd.”

“You’re the homebody?”

“Yeah, I hang out with my roommates but Madge is always out with friends or her ex-boyfriend – don’t ask – and Annie is always at work. My other roommate practically only appears to eat or sleep. We have no idea how she passes her classes. I am usually the one at home doing work and worrying about them when they haven’t shown up by now.”

He pats her knee and grins. “Eh, you’re safe with me.”

“Sure about that?” She turns herself more towards him in the barstool and notes that he keeps his hand on her leg, even though the movement has it further up on her thigh.

“Hm. We shall see.”

The two are interrupted by the arrival of their last drink and a song comes on that immediately makes Katniss giggle. “I can’t believe they are playing One Direction here.”

“Oh God, you’re a Directioner aren’t you? I should have known.”

“Not by choice…my roommate made it happen.”

“Lies.”

She sticks her tongue out at him and he laughs in response. “Well I have always had a thing for boy bands. And besides, everyone has a guilty pleasure.” He pauses and she fills the silence by humming “Live While We’re Young.”

“Okay,” he says, leaning in closer as if relaying his deepest, darkest secret. “I have a secret love of Backstreet Boys.”

She leans in too, her expression clearly amused. “Oh really?”

Peeta nods gravely, his thumb moving in circles on her thigh. “Okay, it may not be so secret. One time, I was at a party and was about to head home because I was pretty drunk and didn’t want to be out anymore. I was on my way out and someone started playing the _Millennium_ CD and I refused to leave and stayed and danced until the played a different group.”

Katniss’ eyes light up at the information. “That is fantastic.”

“Glad you approve.”

“Oh, I do. I’ve seen them in concert. Granted, I was about twelve years old but I have seen them live.”

“You suck.”

Katniss can only laugh at his response. By now, the bar is clearly closing and he pays their bill, refusing her offer to pay half, and they go around back to the parking lot. Katniss shivers without thinking and is surprised when he puts his arm around her, pulling her into his side as they walk. She smiles. _Thought this kind of crap only happens in movies._

They arrive at his jeep and without missing a beat, he glances around the lot and pulls her into him, kissing her quickly. He moves back after a moment to see how she will respond and, with confidence she didn’t know she had, she moves her hands to his shoulders and leans up, kissing him in a way that causes his hands to go to her waist and tighten slightly.

Katniss isn’t sure how long they stay wrapped up in one another, could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes, but they only break apart when they hear someone walking to a car nearby. Peeta unlocks the door and she slides in, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. When he gets in on the other side, he starts the engine and then turns to her, putting a hand on the side of her face and leaning in to kiss her again.

It is slightly awkward to maneuver over the center console and she settles for resting her hand on his forearm, moving her thumb in circles over his skin. Peeta takes that moment to move the kiss forward a bit more, nipping lightly at her bottom lip and coaxing a sigh from her. She feels him grin against her lips and it prompts her to continue, running her tongue against the seam of his lips before pulling slightly away. He groans and pursues, kissing her again lightly and resting his forehead against hers momentarily before letting his hand fall from its place against her cheek. He puts the jeep into gear before grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

Katniss glances out the window so he can’t see her smile at the simple gesture. She plays over the events of the evening in her head, still not sure how she got to this point. Her thoughts are broken into by Peeta clearing his throat and when she glances in his direction, she notices an odd, almost uncertain look on his face. “I guess I am just taking you back to your apartment?”

She feels her face flush red as she realizes the intent to his question. She has to quickly work out in her mind how she wants things to go. She doesn’t want him to think she isn’t interested, but she is also not the type to go home with a guy on a first date. She makes a show of glancing at the clock on her phone and sighing. “You probably should. I actually need to get some sleep to study for my final tomorrow.”

He smiles and drives towards her apartment. She thanks whatever deity is listening that it went as she had hoped. “Understandable. Still on for Friday?”

She thinks back to the plans they had made earlier to possibly go to a club later this week and nods. “If my French final doesn’t kill me that morning,” she replies, groaning at the thought of it. 

“Well, hope that doesn’t happen. Let me know how it goes. Fair warning though, I will hopefully be sleeping for about half of Friday considering I see an all-nighter in my future, so I’m not sure how quick I’ll be getting back to you,” he replies with a laugh.

“No worries,” she says, as they pull up in front of her building. Without letting herself overthink it, as soon as he puts the jeep in park, she unbuckles her seatbelt and uses the hand tangled with his to get his attention. After he turns, she leans up over the console and kisses him quickly and pulls away just as he is starting to respond.

“Good night, Peeta,” she says, smiling, as she gets out of the vehicle. He shakes his head with a grin and answers with the same. When she gets inside her apartment, she discovers it empty except for Annie. Confused, she glances into the other bedrooms. Annie shrugs. “Madge hasn’t been here since about twenty minutes after you left and Jo never showed up tonight. No idea.” She turns to her roommate with a grin. “How was your date with Mr. Perfect?”

“I don’t even know.”

“Was it that good or that bad?” Annie asks, following Katniss as she turns to flop down on her bed.

Katniss props herself up and smiles at her friend. “That amazing.”

“Damn.” Annie nods in approval. “Details?”

“Yeah, let me just change and we’ll chat.”

Annie grins and goes back to her room to do the same. Taking advantage of the privacy, she decides to text Peeta to clarify something.

**Hope you made it back alright. And there was something I was wondering about. When you asked about taking me home…?**

Thirty seconds into changing, her phone buzzes with a text.

**Yeah, what can I say? I may have had some hopes…**

She smirks knowingly before typing out her reply.

**Well, I would have taken you up on that but I am not really that kind of girl. Sorry.**

The next response comes even quicker than the first.

**Hey, as long as you aren’t gonna back out on Friday, I’m okay with it.**

A sigh of relief escapes her lips and she finishes changing before replying.

**Wouldn’t dream of it. Good night. :)**

Katniss calls out to her roommate as she opens the door and grins when the slender brunette comes in and plops onto the bed. Story time.

\---

Friday arrives and Katniss is burnt out by ten in the morning. The French final all but killed her and she is giving herself the rest of the day off, only having one more final the following Monday and all weekend to study.

She and Annie are collapsed on the two couches in their living room watching a Disney movie marathon. Her phone chimes while they are singing along with the closing song to _Tangled_ and pretending that they don’t have to study for finals. As the movie ends, Katniss glances at her phone, expecting a text from her mother and instead seeing Peeta’s name.

Annie gets up, grumbling as she gets ready to go to work and heads to her room to grab her stuff. As she leaves, Katniss calls out a warning that Peeta may be over when she gets back. Annie pokes her head back into the doorway and winks before yelling “No glove, no love” and walking down the hall.  Katniss laughs and restarts the movie before texting Peeta back. The two had talked earlier about being too tired to go out dancing like they had both wanted to.

**P: So since you’re too cool to go out tonight, what are you up to?**

**K: A. I’m not too cool; I’m too tired because the French are stupid. B. You said you didn’t want to go out either and C. I am having a date with a Disney movie.**

**P: Want company on your Disney date?**

**K: I suppose there’s room for one more. Come on over.**

**P: Cool. Let me put real clothes on and I’ll see you soon.**

**K: …not gonna question that. Just come by whenever.**

Katniss smiles and turns her attention back to the movie before getting up and making herself look more presentable. She trades her t-shirt for a plaid button up and a tank top before double checking that her almost vegetative state hasn’t made her look too inappropriate for company. She shrugs in semi approval and heads back to the living room, hoping to not make it obvious that she had just spent ten minutes getting ready for a low key movie night.

After settling into what she feels is a relaxed and natural pose – comfortably stretched on the futon with her feet on the coffee table and her laptop resting on her legs – and gazing at the television screen, she becomes lost in a combination of a daydream on what would be like if Flynn Rider were real and nervous trains of thought concerning a certain blonde who could almost pass for a Disney prince. She is startled out of her thought process by a light knock on the door and she takes a deep breath.

“It’s open!”

The door opens to reveal an amused Peeta. “’It’s open’, that’s how you answer the door?”

“Well, I was all out of Saran Wrap.” Katniss shrugs. He lets out a laugh as he walks fully into the room and falls onto the futon next to her. “Aw, poor baby,” she says, looking over at him and jokingly brushing hair off his forehead. “Library trying to kill you?”

Peeta nods pathetically and turns his gaze to the movie on the screen. “Ooh. Haven’t seen this one.”

Katniss’ jaw drops. “You’re kidding me. Tell me you are joking.”

“No…” he trails off guiltily.

“I’m not sure we can be friends anymore.”

“Over a movie?”

“Over _Tangled._ ”

“Or….we can just start it over and we can rectify this now.”

“Alright. And while I’m getting it ready, look at my Netflix queue and see if there are any other situations we need to fix.”

As she is getting the movie set back up, she hears him clear his throat. “ _Thor_ is the next one.”

She whips around quickly to face him. “You just lost your man card.”

“Bullshit.”

“Seriously! There is no way you can be a man and not have seen the masterpiece that is Chris Hemsworth as Thor.”

“Okay, so this Disney thing, then that one.”

Katniss sighs as if it is the greatest inconvenience she has ever faced. “Fine. Let’s get _Tangled_ sorted out and then we’ll move on.” She continues to mutter under her breath. “Never seen _Thor_.”

”Hush, you,” Peeta replies with a laugh as he pulls her into his side and rests his arm across her shoulders. Katniss smiles at the gesture and curls her body into his slightly. While the opening is still playing, he reaches over and lightly pushes her chin up. She meets his eyes and his gaze falls quickly to her lips before leaning in and kissing her lightly before breaking it far too soon for her liking. She leans a bit closer before he can go back to his original position on the couch and recaptures his lips with her own.

She can feel him smirk against her lips and if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in the kiss, she would have rolled her eyes at the cockiness.  His other hand comes to rest lightly on the side of her face, brushing the thumb over her cheekbone and deepening the kiss slightly. After a moment of this, she pulls away from him and settles even closer to his side. She can feel his chest rise and fall with a deep breath as she rests her head on his shoulder to watch the movie.

As it continues, Katniss notices him playing with her hair absentmindedly as his blue eyes take in the movie in front of him. She smiles slightly and finds herself wishing she hadn’t been watching a Disney movie. She’s never liked the idea of making out or fooling around while a Disney cartoon is playing. It’s like violating the childhood innocence.

After a comfortably silent hour, the movie comes to a close and Katniss goes to push herself off the couch to put in the next movie but is pulled back, only to end up sideways on Peeta’s lap. She opens her mouth to say something, but immediately forgets what as he pulls her down for a kiss.

She takes advantage of her position and moves her arms to rest on his shoulders, joining her hands behind his neck and pulling his chest against hers. He groans lowly at the motion and moves his hands to her hips, tightening them on occasion as she bites lightly on his bottom lip or shifts on his lap. After a few moments, he pulls away but keeps his hands in their positions on her waist.

“Sorry, were you about to do something?” he asks, smirking.

Knowing that he is not expecting an answer, she rolls her eyes and disentangles herself from his grasp. She grins at the shock on his face that she is seemingly continuing with her original mission and holds onto the knowledge that she actually has the upper hand. After setting up the next movie, she goes smoothly to the door and locks it, hoping that the extra few seconds it will take one of her roommates to unlock it will buy them some much needed time.

He cocks an eyebrow at her as she settles down next to him again. “Keeping someone out?”

She returns the expression and nods. “Rather not be interrupted.”

Peeta’s expression goes from curious to slightly smug. “Oh yeah? What could someone possibly interrupt except this so called masterpiece you are making me watch?”

“My God you are difficult,” she murmurs as she reaches over and claims his lips with hers. She feels rather than sees his grin and is determined to wipe that smirk off his face. Some unknown side of her is in control and without a second thought, she straddles his lap, resting her weight on her calves and his thighs. While his hands had not been even touching her at that moment, one immediately snakes around her back and the other lands on her thigh as her arms wind around his neck once more.

He breaks away for only a second, moving only far enough away so that he can speak. “Damn, girl. Didn’t know you had that in you.”

She cocks her head. “There a problem?”

Peeta chuckles, the sound low in his throat. “God, no. More like the opposite.”  He leans closer to her so that when he speaks, his lips brush against hers. “Pretty fucking sexy actually.”

Katniss feels her stomach do a flip of success at his words as she presses her lips against his. Guys hadn’t complained about her in the past by any means, but it would have been rare to get one of them to come out and say something like this. Especially when all they had done was make out.

The hand on her leg moves up to her waist, grasping her hip and pulling her even closer to him, so all of her weight rests on his lap. She lets out a sharp breath at the change and wonders if she imagines the larger inhale from him as well. She moves her hands to grasp the back of the futon rather than the curls that were resting at the top of his neck.

Katniss loses herself in the kiss, unaware and uncaring of how much time has passed. She knows nothing more than Peeta’s large hands roaming her back and sides and his lips against hers. She does notice Peeta start to lean his head back against the futon and takes a hint, moving her attention from his lips to his neck. She is encouraged by his moans and the fact that she can now feel him hard under her in their current position. She moves down his neck, nipping and sucking just light enough so as to not leave a mark, and notices that she gets the best response in two places. When she lightly bites where his shoulder and neck meet, she receives a low groan and when she moves back up to a place right below his ear, his hips buck up against hers and she is quickly shifted as his lips crash back to hers.

This time, Katniss is the one to moan as he uses his grip on her waist and back to move her against his lap and she grinds lightly against him. God knows how many times she had been in this exact position with her ex and never had it affected her like this.

However, the moment is quickly broken by a key being fit into the lock. She immediately slips off Peeta’s lap and he crosses one leg over the other, wincing slightly. She looks over and laughs when he shoots her an irritated look. She curls into his side and somehow they manage to look involved in the movie when Annie walks in. She smiles and greets them and only Katniss can catch the glint of amusement in her eye as she heads back to her bedroom.

“This wouldn’t have happened if we had been in your room…” she hears Peeta mutter.

Katniss assumes an innocent expression and turns towards him. “But we wouldn’t have been able to watch a movie.”

He rolls his eyes and puts his arm around her shoulders. “You and I both know I will be leaving here tonight and be unable to say I’ve seen _Thor_.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been watching the movie the whole time. See? We’re watching now.”

“Well, let’s change that.”

Before Katniss can even respond, his mouth slants over hers. She inhales in surprise and allows him to guide her down so that she is on her back and he is hovering over her. This time, he lets his lips wander to her neck and she arches her back as he makes her sigh with just his mouth. He moves one hand up and down her side repeatedly, getting closer to her chest with each move until he is cupping her breast. She arches her back further and without missing a beat, he begins to unbutton the flannel shirt covering her, exposing the thin tank top and moving his lips down to its neckline.

Completely ignoring the fact that only one door and about ten yards separates one of her roommates from seeing the scene going on in the living room, Katniss thinks nothing of it when Peeta moves the straps of her tank top and bra from her shoulder. He groans at the exposed flesh and immediately swoops down to kiss, swirling his tongue around her nipple and kneading the other breast with the hand not holding up his weight. She bends her legs at the knees, curling them up on either side of his body so that he could lower himself in between them.

The new position gives him better access to her body, which she gladly grants him, threading her fingers through his hair and eventually coaxing him back up to kiss him. Time passes far too quickly for her liking and before she knows it, his phone buzzes with an alarm, a reminder that he has to be up at a decent time in the morning to study and that he can’t spend all night with a half-naked brunette on a futon.

He pulls back from her slowly, regretfully, and looks down at her, smiling. Katniss assumes it is due to her disheveled appearance, swollen lips and slightly unhappy expression. He helps her fix her shirt and runs his hands through her hair, finishing it with another deep kiss, letting his tongue brush along the seam of her lips and coaxing one more sigh from her. He pulls her to her feet and grins. “Walk me out?”

Katniss nods and takes his hand as she walks him to the door of her building. He starts to walk out after smiling again but she uses her grip on his hand to pull him back. He looks at her with a questioning glance and she shakes her head.

“After all that, I don’t even get a kiss goodbye?”

His bemused expression turns to a smirk and he pulls her in for a kiss. She deepens it and wraps one arm around his neck. It isn’t often she enjoys PDA, but considering this will probably be one of the last times she sees him, she is going to enjoy it. After moving away, he lightly kisses her once more before whispering goodbye and walking out, glancing behind him to smile at her.

She moves back into the building, amused at the impressed looks and thumbs up a few of the guys relaxing in the lobby are giving her. She walks back into her room, only to see Annie sitting on her bed with a grin. “Spill it.”

\---

The two have their final exam and text briefly that day but after that, Katniss doesn’t hear from him except for a few sporadic texts. She moves back home for the summer while he prepares for graduation. They check in about every other day until she sees the status online that she had known was coming.

**Back in NC. Think I’ll be staying here for a while…**

She lets out a sigh, knowing that the odds of him ever being in the same space as her are small at best. Her best friend from home, Rue, is seated next to her in her apartment. Her mouth is hanging open after Katniss begrudgingly tells her the whole story.

“Dear God. That’s the kind of shit that happens in movies.”

Katniss nods in agreement. “Oh, I agree. It won’t be easy to live up to that.”

“And I’m sorry, why didn’t you screw him?”

“Rue!”

“I’m sorry! But when life hands you a guy like that, you don’t walk away from someone that perfect.”

“I know.” She drops her head in her hands.

Rue rubs a circle on the girl’s back. “We all have the one that got away. This is yours.”

Katniss peeks at her between her fingers. “Some show said that guys regret the girls they didn’t sleep with and girls regret the ones they do. Not sure that is always true.”

“At least your regret is of the positive type.”

“True. We weren’t around each other long enough to get sick of each other. It will always be looked back on as even better than it was.” Katniss smiles. “It is a damn good story to tell. I’ll give him that.” Her phone chimes and she looks at the caller ID, the smile never completely fading. The guy from work is attractive enough, somewhat intelligent and fairly entertaining. However, she’s not sure it will be good enough for her at this point. _Good luck to you, Mr. Hawthorne. It’ll be awfully tough to top the last one. I’m afraid you got your work cut out for you._

**Author's Note:**

> I referenced two of my favorite tv shows in this (Gilmore Girls and How I Met Your Mother). Ten points to whoever finds them. 
> 
> On a different note, please let me know what you thought, either here or on tumblr (I'm oywiththepeetaalready there too.) Hope you enjoyed it!


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